The Federal Government has called for robust and sustainable partnerships from the media organisations to enhance health activities coverage and promote awareness to tackle disease outbreaks in Nigeria.
The Director of Family Health, Dr Salma Ibrahim Anas in her welcome remark at a One Day Meeting to Sensitize Media Sector on Operationalisation of Media Engagement Strategy for Health Promotion in Nigeria 2021 to 2025 in Abuja, pointed out that the use of social media has brought about the spread of misinformation on public health issues and this prompted the need to work on the health and media sector engagement.
The Director who was represented by the Head of Health Promotion Division, Bako Aiyegbusi explained that the Family Health Department, Health Promotion Division in collaboration with key actors in the media sector, has developed the maiden Media Engagement Strategy for Health Promotion in Nigeria, stipulated from 2021 to 2025.
She explained that this was in order to highlight what was needed to be done by the media in creating visibility for the ministry’s activities.
“The media engagement was aimed at sourcing for avenues for media reportage of health activities as the critical role of the media in creating awareness on issues of public interest cannot be overemphasized”
“The strategy aims to provide a guideline on how the Health sector will work effectively with the Media sector to increase awareness and reportage of Reproductive Maternal New-born Child Adolescent and Elderly Health plus Nutrition, and other essential health services at both the Federal and Sub-national levels”
Recall, that in 2019, the National Health Promotion Policy was created to empower the Nigerian populace to take timely actions in disease prevention, improving their health and wellbeing as well as taking measures that ensure a healthy society.
Anas noted that this can only be achieved if health promotion interventions are directed at improving health literacy and promotion of healthy choices.
Speaking on the overview of the media engagement strategy was Mrs Bako Aiyegbusi, Director Health Promotion Division, who disclosed that health promotion is about enabling people to increase control and giving them an opportunity to improve their health.
She said, “The emergence of social media misinformation and fake news on public health issues further justify the need to clearly define the Modus Operandi of the health and media sector engagement.”
Giving statistics, she stated that, “According to Internet world stats, as of March 2020, the number of Internet users had increased to 91.6 million with Nigeria occupying the 6th highest number of Internet users across the globe.”
She added that things have changed a lot in terms of dissemination of information as prior before the emergence of the Internet, the media alone could set the agenda for the public but now, agenda-setting powers of the public are now determined by the Internet.
“For the ministry to adequately be able to control the health information in the public and have an upper hand over social media misinformation, a collaborative working relationship between the ministry’s health reporters is the ideal way to achieve the fit.”
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Buhari Urges MTN For Quality Service, Downward Price Review In Cost Of Data, Other Services Rulers World
President Muhammadu Buhari Friday at State House Abuja urged the MTN Group to make the available top-of-the-range service to its Nigerian subscribers… FG seeks media partnership to enhance health activities coverage FG seeks media partnership to enhance health activities coverage FG seeks media partnership to enhance health activities coverage FG seeks media partnership to enhance health activities coverage
and then